Sakura?
by kokkilamb01
Summary: Tsunade had warned her to be careful with the anti-ageing potion. Oh, what did they do to deserve this?
1. Chapter 1

-Naruto = Not mine.-

**Sakura-Chan?**

Summary: Tsunade had warned her to be careful with the anti-ageing potion. Oh, what did they do to deserve this?

**A highly unoriginal fanfic. I know. And I haven't updated The Prince or SIW. I've finished Comeback Chapter 5 but haven't published it. *is shot***

**But I needed to get this out. Sorry. OTL**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

A silver haired man arrived at the third training grounds. He creased his visible eye as he smiled underneath his mask, "Yo!"

Kakashi scratched the back of his head as he smiled sheepishly behind his mask. His blonde student promptly stood up from his spot on the grass to point accusingly at him, "You're late, sensei!" He screamed. Loudly.

Kakashi was about to open his mouth when he was interrupted by the blonde, "Liar!" The jounin felt hurt that his students no longer wanted to hear any of his excuses. His dark eye darted from the annoying blonde to the brooding Uchiha then to the emotionless artist.

Wait.

"Where's Sakura?"

This managed to catch all the boys' attention as they started to look around the area for signs of the pink haired kunoichi. Kakashi frowned; Haruno Sakura was not the type of person that would come late to any of their training sessions. She was always the one on time and would be the first-along with Naruto- to reprimand him for always being late.

Suddenly, all of them felt a presence.

The ANBU nodded his head in respect before speaking, "Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Sai. You are all required to report to the Hokage Tower immediately." The ANBU once again nodded his head before disappearing, erasing every sign of his presence there.

Kakashi took out his orange companion and started to flip to the dog eared page, "Well then, all of you should go quickly." He could hear Naruto whine about not being able to fight the Uchiha. Sasuke ignored him as Sai started to throw comments about Naruto's… er… manhood. Or lack of it.

Kakashi sighed as he watched his students leap towards the Hokage Tower.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Naruto slammed open the doors of the Hokage's office, "You called baa-chan?" Tsunade held the sake cup in her hand tighter. The headache was getting worse by the second. Naruto noticed that there were more people in the room. Neji stood with his arms crossed next to a man clad in green spandex. Beside Lee, were Shino and Kiba. At the far end of the room stood Shikamaru and Chouji munching on his chips.

Sasuke frowned when he found that the room was filled with people. Uchiha Sasuke _hated_ crowds and he did his best to avoid them. He looked expectantly at the Hokage awaiting her orders. What could she possibly need from _all_ of them?

The Hokage sighed, "We have a problem."

"What problem?" Sai spoke.

As if on cue, the Hokage doors opened and all nine pair of eyes turned to the doors. They found Shizune smiling awkwardly, in her arms was a very young girl not over the age of five. The little girl had pink hair and large viridian eyes that stared at them.

Wait. _Pink_ hair?

"_This_ is our problem," Tsunade pointed at her apprentice.

Naruto gaped, "Is that who I think it is?" Tsunade nodded. Shikamaru sighed and mumbled under his breath. Chouji completely stopped his munching to stare at the small bundle of pink. The rest openly stared at her with their mouths hanging open.

"The girls would do a better job at this," Neji stated coolly his lavender eyes never leaving Sakura. She was so _tiny_! Hyuga Neji _refused_ to do this type of menial task. _Babysitting? _That was beneath him.

Tsunade sighed again, "Unfortunately, the girls are out on separate missions and won't return until next week." Shizune entered the room and placed Sakura in the middle of the room. The little pinkette stared at the taller men and smiled sweetly. She found some of them scary but her emerald eyes landed on something furry.

She squealed as she ran unsteadily with her tiny feet towards Akamaru. Sakura started to giggle childishly as she hugged one of Akamaru's legs. She giggled as the white fur tickled her face. Kiba crouched down to her level, "Sakura?" Sakura lifted her head to look him. She grinned and raised her arms wide, "Hai!" Kiba blushed at her cute behaviour. He wasn't sure this was the same woman that could crush mountains. Sakura looked so small and defenceless.

"What happened?" The entire room was surprised to hear the Uchiha speak.

Tsunade cleared her throat as she started to explain, "Well, I asked Sakura to retrieve an important potion from a nearby village. The potion was a very concentrated solution that could enable a person to look younger with just _one_ _drop_. While she was on the way to the Tower, she slipped and spilled _all_ the solution on herself. Hence, causing her to become _very_ young."

Sasuke stared at the small girl that was now running around the room in circles giggling madly as Akamaru started to playfully chase her. Dare he say, cute? He scowled at what he just thought. "Is there any way to reverse this?"

Tsunade started to take another sip of her sake, "Uhh… That's _another_ problem. It will take a while for me to produce a cure. So, all of you will be taking care of her until then."

"WHAT?" All the men chorused.

Tsunade continued, "But if you prefer, I could ask Kakashi to take care of her."

The room grew quiet.

"We'll take care of her," all of them said again, not wanting the innocent little girl to fall into the hands of her very perverted sensei.

Naruto bent down and opened his arms wide, "Come to Naruto-niichan!" The pinkette stared at him with her wide apple green eyes and started to run towards him.

And then she ran in between his legs past him and through the wide open doors of the Hokage's office.

Naruto stared dumbly through his legs as the small figure started to disappear from his sight.

"Naruto! You idiot! All of you find her _now_!" The Godaime Hokage barked in her loud commanding voice, "If anything happens to her, I will _crush_ all of you." She destroyed the sake cup in her hands to emphasise her point.

The men nodded before quickly leaving the room in search of a pink haired tyke.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Uchiha Sasuke grumbled under his breath as he leapt from one roof to another using his Sharingan to locate his missing team member. He hated wasting his time doing stupid missions when he could train and become stronger. What Sasuke needed now was _strength_ and _power_, _not_ some snot-nosed little child that would get in his way.

He landed gracefully on the ground when he heard childish giggling coming from some bushes. Sasuke pushed aside the green foliage and found her curled in a little ball. Sakura looked up shocked to see one of the men she had seen in the office earlier on.

Sasuke frowned and tried to pull her out of the bushes. She giggled and started to run away from him, as fast as her puny legs could carry her. And let me tell you, that's not very fast.

The Sharigan user sighed and tried to pick her up once more. He grumbled in annoyance when she once again slipped from his grasps. She giggled. Did she think this was some type of game? He continued chasing her in vain as she ran away from him. Do you have any idea how the feared Uchiha Sasuke looked like now? With his back bent forward and his hands outstretched running after a pink haired little girl. He looked less of a deadly shinobi and more of a chicken chaser.

Sasuke's patience was running thin when Sakura's small frame hit a leg in orange and black. She fell back, "Itai!" Her eyes opened as she registered the blonde hair and bright cerulean eyes that looked down at her. Sakura was pretty sure this was one of the older brothers she had seen a few minutes ago.

She quickly stood up and flailed her tiny arms wildly as she ran around Naruto in circles. Naruto was about to pick her up when something caught her attention. She slipped past Naruto's hands and attached herself to the leg of the new person that caught her attention. "Onee-chan!"

The rest of the group had arrived when they saw cute little Sakura attach herself to Neji's leg.

Naruto tried to hold back his laughter, "Onee-chan?"

Shikamaru looked down at the girl that refused to let go of Neji's leg, "It looks like she has mistaken you as a girl, Neji."

Neji felt a vein pop on his forehead, "Get. Her. _Off_."

Shino tried to pry her strong fingers off Neji but her grip only tightened on his leg, obstructing the blood flow to his leg. It looks like she didn't lose her super strength. "This is futile. Why? She refuses to let go."

When Neji was about to try and pry her off, she removed herself from him and grabbed onto his long brown hair. He howled in pain as he lifted her into his arms to try and remove her little fingers from his luscious hair.

Sakura lifted her arms over her head victoriously, "Yatta! Onee-chan carry Sakura!"

Neji looked at the little girl in his arms questioningly, "Neji-_oniichan_, Sakura. I am a male." He corrected her. Despite him wanting to remove her from his arms, he still found the little thing absolutely adorable (_unfortunately_).

Sakura looked at him and tilted her head, "Onii-chan?" Then she proceeded to pat his _entire_ face with her tiny little palms as if to make sure he was a male. He smiled-_inside of course_- at her childish actions.

"Yes, Sakura. I am a male."

She stopped, "You Sakura's Onii-chan?"

"Uhh… Yes?" He wasn't so sure himself.

Sakura's tiny face brightened as she clapped her hands happily and placed a wet kiss on his cheek. Neji turned a bright shade of red. His bright red face betrayed his stoic expression. Naruto seeing this, felt extremely jealous.

He took Sakura from his arms and held her at arm's length. Her feet were dangling as she giggled. "Sakura-chan that's not fair," The Kyubi container whined, "I want a kiss too." Sakura continued to laugh with childish glee as she dangled her legs back and forth. Naruto found this amusing and lifted her higher which only caused her to laugh louder and throw her arms in the air.

Shikamaru took Sakura from Naruto before he could do anything stupid. Sakura started to play with the pockets on his Chunin vest. "Troublesome," he sighed. Chouji walked over to Shikamaru and ruffled the little girl's hair. "What do we do, Shikamaru?"

"We'll take turns."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

** Review?**

** I don't know who should take care of her first. **

**Recommendations? Suggestions?**


	2. Chapter 2

-Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I gain nothing from this.-

**Sakura?**

**This took longer than expected and I am sorry. OTL Inspiration is hard to come by. :/**

**Oh! The scene with Kakashi in it is Hika-BOOO the Awesome's idea. Thank you for the wonderful idea! ^0^**

**Enjoy Chapter 2 starring Kiba! *0***

Chapter 2: Inuzuka Kiba

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Inuzuka Kiba sighed out loud as he tried to figure out where to go. He scratched the back of his head as pondered what the hell he was supposed to do with a little girl barely able to count to ten. Now, Kiba was the youngest in the family. Meaning, he had never taken care of younger siblings before. He had seen his older sister, Hana, take care of some young kids before and he found out through her that it was an experience that he should avoid.

Kiba didn't _hate _kids. No, he preferred not to have their snot or vomit all over him. He couldn't find any way to escape out of this since he would rather not face the Hokage when she was angry (or drunk). Kiba knew he wouldn't be able to survive _that_.

"Why can't Naruto, Sasuke or Sai take her? They're her team mates," Kiba whined as Shikamaru placed the tyke on Akamaru's back.

"We've already gone through this," the Nara genius sighed, "Naruto, Sasuke and Sai have training now. Shino has family business to attend to. And the rest of us have missions to complete."

Kiba grumbled under his breath.

"Don't worry Kiba! I'll finish training real quick and take care of Sakura-Chan 'ttebayo!" Naruto bent down to Sakura's level, "We'll have losta fun together!"

Sakura lifted her head to study the loud-mouthed blonde for a second before completely ignoring him and continued her quest to count the fur on Akamaru's back.

Naruto being mortally wounded by the lack of attention retreated to a small dark corner and started to mumble incoherently under his breath.

Kiba watched from the corner of his eyes as Sakura started to giggle and comb her fingers through Akamaru's fur. She was riding on Akamaru's back happily. She seemed to have taken a liking to the dog. The older Sakura always did bring around treats with her for Akamaru. Kiba was starting to doubt that this tiny harmless looking girl was Sakura. The woman with monstrous strength and a volatile temper. Kiba had first row seats to watch Naruto being punched into oblivion for his mistakes. Let's just say he was unconscious for a week.

Sakura continued to comb her fingers through its fur. It was so soft! And he has so big! Smart little Sakura knew that he was a little _too_ big to be a dog. She clearly knew what Akamaru was.

A **horsey**.

Yes, Akamaru was one of those cute little ponies she had always wanted for a birthday present.

Now, what did ponies do again?

She giggled happily as she grabbed a handful of the horsey's fur and _tugged_.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Kakashi had his nose in his Icha Icha Paradise on Chapter 3, Page 69, the part where the female protagonist was staring to fall in love with the male protagonist and had started their wild and passionate relationship with whip-cream, handcuffs and…

Okay, that was not the point.

The main point was that Kakashi was reading his novel when he heard _barking_ coming his way.

Now, the mighty Copy-nin couldn't care less about anything else if he was reading his book (especially if it's during one of those juicy _scenes_) but, wild locks of bubblegum pink filled his vision when the dog crashed into him.

He could have easily dodged it. But, he admitted that he was distracted by that familiar shade of pink. He swore he had seen it somewhere.

He removed himself from the dusty ground and kept his beloved book back into his vest. With his visible eye, he studied the minuscule figure sitting comfortably on Akamaru's back.

"Hello there. You look strangely like my… Sakura?"

Kakashi could barely believe his eyes (or eye). Maybe he really was getting old. He should've listened when they said he should sleep more instead of indulge in his erotic novels.

The Copy-nin tentatively picked up the tiny girl from Akamaru's back, suddenly afraid he could break her. Never in a million years had Kakashi thought he had the ability to _break_ Sakura. Sakura made it pretty clear when they returned to Konoha after retrieving Sasuke that if they ever _dared_ to under-estimate her again she would pulverise them with her super strength.

He stared down at the tiny bundle in his arms. She had started to mindlessly empty the pockets on his chunin vest. He noticed that some of the important scrolls he had kept in his pockets had been carelessly strewn around him. The pinkette unrolled a green scroll that held some Sharigan techniques and threw it behind her obviously unimpressed by the strange symbols and markings that could kill a thousand people at a time. She then removed something Kakashi preferred she never touched.

His Icha Icha novel.

He snatched the orange reading material from the child and held it away from her. "Sakura? Is that you?"

She peered up at him with her large doe-like viridian eyes and grinned, "Hai!"

"Do you know who I am?"

She frowned and pouted her lips. Sakura stared at the strange looking old man while crossing her arms, in her thinking pose. "No." She was unbelievably adorable.

Kakashi visibly deflated before an idea hit him like a pile of rocks, "My name is Kakashi. You can call me Kashi-niichan."

Sakura tilted her head questioningly, "Kashi-niichan?"

Kakashi grinned and started to cuddle Sakura. She was irresistibly cute. He stopped his cuddling when he felt familiar chakra signatures coming from behind him. The Copy-nin turned around slowly to find nine male shinobi flaring their chakras maliciously.

"Kakashi-sensei, what were you doing with Sakura-chan?" Naruto growled in a low tone. Sasuke's Sharingan had already been activated and was spinning dangerously. Neji had his Byakugan activated and looked about ready to strike. Kiba was growling loudly. Chouji wasn't munching on chips (which meant serious business). Shikamaru was glowering at him. Shino's insects were already making their way towards him. Lee had already opened one of the Gates on his Chakra Pathway System. And Sai was smiling with his drawing hand poised over a piece of paper.

_Oh, shit. _

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"I still fail to understand why I am required to follow both of you in this mission," Gaara spoke, his voice dripping with authority and his arms crossed.

Temari and Kankuro looked at each other. The Sand Siblings had been on the way to Konohagakure for a simple mission to exchange scrolls and information regarding their respective villages. This was usually done by ANBU or high levelled Jounin since the information kept in the scrolls were exceptionally important. But, it was completely unnecessary for the Kages of each village to send the scrolls in person.

"We just thought that you could use a little break in Konoha," Kankuro scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Break? Kazekages do not take breaks. There are a lot of work and documents that need to be completed," Gaara stared at Kankuro with displeasure. It would be the puppet master's fault if he returned to Suna with a mountain of paperwork to complete.

"This was why we decided to take you on a vacation! When was the last time you even _left_ the Kazekage's office?" Temari scolded, her hands on her hips.

Gaara frowned when he found out that Temari was right. He couldn't actually recall _leaving_ the office. "But, why Konoha? I can take a break in Suna."

"To help you get _**laid**_!" Kankuro shouted in exasperation pulling his dark brown hair.

Gaara promptly started to turn a bright shade of red.

Temari smacked Kankuro's head, "Stop teasing your brother about his _virginity_!"

The red haired Kazekage only wished Temari didn't shout _that_ out loud as he leapt from the branch faster than usual towards Konoha to try and escape his bickering siblings.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Neji placed Sakura in Kiba's arms somewhat _hesitantly_. Both Naruto and Sasuke were dragging an unconscious Kakashi towards the training ground (to beat him up some more). Sasuke was mumbling random torture devices under his breath that could even make Orochimaru gape in surprise. Kiba couldn't even _pronounce_ half of the devices. Naruto was screaming at the top of his lungs about a certain silver-haired, perverted sensei. Poor Kakashi was being dragged by the collar of his chunin vest to his imminent doom.

Kiba couldn't help but snicker.

"Was Kashi-niichan bad?" Sakura questioned looking up at the dog specialist.

Kiba frowned disapprovingly at how Sakura had addressed her sensei. "Yes. Yes, he was. And you should call him Kashi-_oji_chan."

Sakura nodded profusely.

Sai appeared in front of them, his fake smile already in place. He bowed deeply, "We'll leave Sakura in your capable hands."

Kiba grinned showing his canine-like features, "You can count on me."

Sakura waved both her hands in the air, "Bye Bye!"

The pale artist blinked in surprise before leaving. Soon, Shino, Shikamaru, Neji, Lee and Chouji left leaving him alone with the restless pinkette.

_Now, what?_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sakura giggled wildly as she ran around trying to catch up to the over-sized dog. Kiba had brought her over to his house where they had a large backyard for her to play in. The dog specialist had been surprised at how much energy the little pink haired girl had.

"Arf!" Sakura mimicked running towards Kiba, her arms wide. Kiba laughed as he caught the running Sakura and lifted her into the air. She dangled her legs playfully and covered her mouth with her puny hands to try and suppress her laughter.

"Aren't you tired yet, Sakura?" Kiba questioned as he placed her back on her feet. He caught sight of Akamaru already worn out from all the running.

Sakura grinned and shook her head from side to side causing her bright hair to whip around her face. Kiba sighed and took a seat in front her. She started to pull the grass in between them.

"Tired, Kiba-niichan?" She questioned her bright emerald eyes staring at him.

"Kinda," he admitted, combing his dark locks with his fingers.

Sakura frowned at him and stood up. Even in her full height, Sakura's head could barely reach his forehead when he was sitting down. He marvelled at how small she was.

"Sleep," She commanded, "Sakura stay here."

Kiba raised his eyebrows suspiciously and used his hands as a pillow. He closed his eyes tiredly. Even when she had turned into a child, Sakura still cared about her friends' well-being. He could recall countless ninjas being dragged (literally) to the hospital for their monthly full body check-up.

He opened his eyes suddenly when he felt a body snuggle into his. He looked down to find Sakura fast asleep, using his chest as a pillow. He chuckled silently, not wanting to wake her up. _So much for not being tired,_ he thought with an amused smile. Kiba brought her close to him and brushed a strand of pastel coloured hair from her face. He smiled fondly at the little bundle of warmth in his arms.

Akamaru woofed as quietly as possible.

"You like her too, huh?" Kiba smirked as he turned his head to his companion.

He woofed again in agreement.

Kiba chuckled and brought Sakura closer to him, to keep her warm. Akamaru curled up on his other side. He thought that this whole baby-sitting experience was going to be a complete _hell_. But, he found it pretty fun. Sakura was easy to please and she would always giggle at the littlest things. Just like her older self, she was completely trusting.

Maybe he didn't mind taking care of kids.

Or maybe he didn't mind taking care of _Sakura_.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sakura woke up from her nap in the dark.

She didn't like the dark.

There were **monsters** in the dark.

They were going to take her away and eat her.

She sat up on the extremely large bed and curled in a foetal position underneath the covers. Sakura hoped that the covers would provide her enough cover.

She didn't want to get eaten.

Where was Kiba-niichan?

Did he abandon her and leave her in the dark **alone**?

Tears started to well up as she started to silently whimper and cry, wrapping the covers around her tighter.

She heard the doors creak open, "Please don't eat me." Sakura cried harder, her tears started to flow non-stop.

When Kiba had entered the room to find a crying Sakura, he immediately regretted leaving her alone to get some food for lunch. He jogged over to his bed, "Sakura?" Pink hair and viridian eyes popped out from under the covers like daises.

The next thing he knew, Sakura grabbed onto the front of his shirt as if she was holding on for dear life. Her voice was muffled out by his shirt that was now starting to get damp from her tears.

"Shhh. There's nothing here," Kiba comforted her. He picked her up gently and flicked the light switch on. Sakura hid her face as if expecting to see monsters suddenly become visible.

"See?" He watched with concern as Sakura lifted her face from his jacket and turned to look around the room apprehensively.

She then looked up at him, her eyes slightly red, "Monsters?"

Kiba wiped the tears with the back of his hand, "I'll protect you from them."

"Promise?" her voice sounded so hopeful, he couldn't say no.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sakura had refused to let go of him after that incident. Hell, she was sticking to him like a leech. Kiba was mildly surprised that Sakura was _that_ afraid of the dark.

The pinkette had placed her tiny head on his shoulder and whispered, "Where are we going?"

Kiba patted her head, "To the other oni-chan's home. I have a mission to prepare for tomorrow."

"Monsters? Don't leave me," She pleaded in a small voice.

"Don't worry, Sakura. I'll never leave you. I'll come back, I promise."

He knocked on the doors of the house and sighed.

Already, he was promising eternity to a little pink haired girl.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

** How was it? **

** Please review and tell me who you wish to take care of her next!**

**Shino**

**Shikamaru**

**Chouji**

**Sasuke**

**Naruto**

**Sai**

**Neji**

**Lee**

**Sand Siblings**

**V**

**V**

**V**

**CLICK IT! U_U**


	3. Chapter 3

-Meh. Naruto doesn't belong to me, sadly.-

**Sakura?**

**According to most of the people that have reviewed, most of you would like the Sand Siblings to appear in this chapter! Your wish is my command~! xD**

**Please do enjoy reading this chapter! ^_^ (An don't forget to review!)**

Chapter 3: Sand Siblings

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Okay, that's just not right.

"Yo!" He cheerfully greeted. His silver hair was in disarray and leaning to one side. His mask covered half of his face making one of his eyes the only visible thing on his face.

"Kashi-ojichan!" Sakura shouted eagerly, throwing her hands in the air. She waved happily.

Unlike Sakura, Kiba wasn't that excited to see Pedo-Kakashi at his friend's house. "What are you doing here? Where's Naruto?"

"Oh, he had to run laps around Konoha," The Copy-nin replied lazily, "Were you going to leave Sakura with him?"

"It's his turn next," Kiba tried to peek over Kakashi's shoulder.

"You can leave her with me," the silver haired ninja suggested; his arms already outstretched. He almost sounded hopeful.

_Hell, no._

"No," he flatly rejected his offer, "I'll go find someone else."

Kakashi visibly deflated like a wilted flower and watched helplessly as Kiba, Akamaru and cute little Sakura left.

Oh well, he'll try again later.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Kiba walked down the streets as fast as possible far away from Sakura's perverted sensei. Like hell he was going to leave her with him. Leaving her with Naruto would be a much safer idea.

"Hey, you're the dog-boy."

Kiba turned around, "Dog-boy?"

Said Dog-boy was surprised to see the Sand Siblings standing right in front of him. He hadn't seen them since the Chunin exams and he remembered that he wasn't actually fond of any of them. But, he knew that the youngest had become Kazekage. Naruto had also become friends with him.

Gaara couldn't actually recall his name. What was it again? Aiba? But, he remembered his face and his dog. The dog had grown extremely big and was no longer riding on his head. Though there was something else in his arms. It had pink hair with a small red ribbon tied around its head. It strangely reminded him of that pretty medic from Kono-

Wait a minute.

The Sand Siblings stared openly at Sakura who was still in Kiba's arms.

"Holy fu-" Kankuro was cut off when Temari smacked him.

"Not in front of the child!" She scolded.

Being the very curious girl, Sakura turned around. She couldn't recognise any of them. So, she did the only thing a child was supposed to do when meeting strangers. She lifted one of her arms and waved, "Hi!"

She giggled when the three strangers just looked at her.

Kankuro stepped forward and poked one of Sakura's chubby cheeks. She blinked and puffed it out playfully. Dare he say, adorable?

"Is she…" Kankuro drawled, unsure. The puppet master wasn't a big fan of kids.

"Uhh… Yes," Kiba answered.

"She's so small," Temari cooed. Both Kankuro and Gaara were worried at her sudden shift in personality.

"Inuzuka-san! Inuzuka-san! You should report to the Hokage now," a ninja said panting heavily from all the running.

Kiba tried not to curse under his breath. He couldn't bring Sakura to the mission. There was no one nearby that could take care of her. He can't leave her alone with a stranger.

Suddenly, an idea hit him.

"Take care of her for me. If you find any members of Konoha 12 pass her to them. Whatever you do, _do not_ leave her alone with Kakashi," Kiba placed the tiny pinkette in Temari's open arms. He ruffled her hair affectionately and quickly disappeared with Akamaru towards the Hokage tower.

"Wait!" Temari shouted.

Sakura watched as Kiba's shadow disappeared from her view. She frantically started to look around. She couldn't recognise anybody. She started to nervously toy with the hem of her dress.

Gaara could barely contain his shock. Just months before this tiny little girl had helped retrieve his from Akatsuki and healed his brother from a deadly poison. Now, she had turned into a tiny little girl.

"Stop staring at her like that, Gaara. You're making her nervous," Temari looked down at Sakura.

"I think _you're_ the one making her nervous," Kankuro remarked.

Temari let the snide remark slide since she didn't want to expose Sakura to her violent tendencies at such a young age.

"Ne, Sakura-chan? Do you remember us?" Temari asked in a soft voice. Once again, she scared the living daylights out of her brothers. Where was the loud and violent sister they had loved?

Sakura shook her head.

"I'm Temari, that's Kankuro and that's Gaara," Temari pointed at each of them respectively.

"Sakura!" The puny pinkette introduced herself.

"It's best that we find Konoha ninja to take care of her," Gaara finally spoke, throwing curious glances at the small bundle in Temari's arms.

"Awww! Come on, Gaara. How bad could it be?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Well, _apparently_, according to his sister: _It couldn't be that bad taking care of a child! How much harm can this little one do?_

Sabaku no Gaara was starting to find out that it was pretty difficult. Especially if she wouldn't stop staring at him with those big eyes of hers. The Kazekage had tried to ignore her and continue meditating but somehow, he could _feel_ her still watching him curiously. Do kids usually do this? Was she trying to burn a hole right through him? Well, using a Katon Jutsu would certainly be much easier.

Kankuro and Temari had gone to get some food and had (unfortunately) left him with Sakura at one of the parks. Sakura had quietly complied but didn't stop her curious stares. Well, Gaara didn't actually know the medic very well. But he was grateful that she had been there to save his brother and had been part of the Team to retrieve him. Her prowess still slightly surprised him.

"Ne, Gaawa-niichan? What's that?"

_Gaa__**w**__a_?

Gaawa (I mean, **Gaara**) turned his head to look at her. Sakura grinned from her seat next to him. She was looking straight at the kanji on his forehead. He assumed she had been asking about _that_. He didn't actually want to tell such a story to a small child. It was like opening a jar of cookies and finding out that they had actually bought the one with nuts instead of chocolate.

Gaara wasn't sure if that actually made sense.

"Nothing you can understand," He answered easily.

Sakura, taking that as an insult, stood up on the bench. She turned her tiny body to look at him with her hands on her hips and a very adorable frown on her face. An exact copy of her older version when she was scolding her patients. If Gaara had eyebrows, they would be raised now.

"Sakura _can_ understand!" She insisted, "Sakura is very smart!"

He decided to placate her, "Oh, really?"

She nodded her head excitedly, "Sakura can count to hundwed!"

"That's good."

_Somehow_, that didn't convince the stubborn pinkette that he was impressed. She lifted her hands in front of his face and started to count, "One, Two, Three, Four, Five, One-teen, Fourteen, Fifty, Ninety-Nine and Hundwed!" She smiled triumphantly, proud of her counting ability.

Gaara looked away and covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud. Oh Kami, she was _precious_. He turned back to her with the tiniest of smile on his face as he ruffled her hair.

"Will Gaawa-niichan tell Sakura _now_?" She pleaded, her viridian eyes shining brightly.

He shook his head, "It's a sad story."

"Sad? Don't be sad," She walked towards him and hugged his left arm. Since, she had really short arms.

He picked her up and placed her on his lap, "I'm not sad."

Gaara took one of her tiny hands in his and marvelled at how her hand could barely cover the palm of his hand. This tiny hand would be able to crush mountains and bring anyone back from the dead. Haruno Sakura was quite an interesting person both young and old. There was no wonder Naruto had fallen head over heels for her.

No, he wasn't sad. Not anymore.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Imagine the shock Kankuro and Temari had to go through when they saw their _slightly_ unemotional brother with a laughing Sakura riding on his shoulders.

Temari was sure she was going to cry tears of joy right there and then.

"How's the air pressure up there, kid?" Kankuro joked as he walked over to them with a grocery bag in his hands.

"Kanku-niichan! Tema-neechan!" Sakura waved from the top of Gaara's head.

Kankuro chuckled as he removed her from Sakura's shoulders, "Time for lunch." Temari took a seat as she started to empty the contents in the grocery bag. There were onigiris, hamburgers and chestnuts.

Temari took an onigiri and a hamburger from the pile and passed it over to Kankuro, "Here. Go and feed her."

"What? Why me? Shouldn't _you_ do it?" The puppet master protested.

"Did you say something, little brother?" Something on her facial expression told him to run as far as possible from her.

"Uhh... Nothing," He didn't want incur his sister's wrath. Let me tell you, _that_ is definitely _not_ healthy. He removed Sakura from Gaara's shoulders and placed her next to him. He removed the wrapper from the onigiri and placed it in Sakura's tiny hands. The ongiri looked strangely huge in her hands.

Kankuro was about to take a bite out of his burger when he noticed Sakura was having trouble eating her meal. He sighed and placed his burger down. He turned to face the pinkette and took the onigiri from her puny hands. He broke off a small piece of it and placed his fingers in front of Sakura's mouth, "Eat."

Sakura gratefully opened her mouth as Kankuro feed her the small portion of rice. That's when dear little Sakura decided to play a little with her Kanku-niichan.

"Huh? What the-" Kankuro tried to remove his index finger from her mouth, "Kid, let go."

Kankuro shook his hand but the tyke still held onto his finger stubbornly.

"Sakura-chan? Look what I have here!"

Taking that slight second to his advantage, he slipped his trapped finger out of Sakura's mouth and wiped the saliva off on his pants.

Sakura was about to jump off the bench to run to Temari but she stopped. She turned to the nii-chan with the painted face and grabbed his sleeve roughly, causing him to bend towards her. She planted a wet kiss on his cheek and ran off towards Temari, giggling madly.

Frankly, that caught him off guard. He watched with a shocked expression as she started to play with the trinket Temari had just purchased.

Kami, he wasn't feeding kids again, he loved his fingers too much to risk it. He needed them to control his puppets.

He chuckled quietly to himself as he smiled fondly at the pinkette.

It was hard _not_ to like her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sakura stared at the funny contraption in her hands. What was she supposed to do with it? Was it edible?

"Ah! Sakura-chan! That's not supposed to go in your mouth!" Temari removed the small fan from her mouth. While she had been grocery shopping, she had come across a traditional mini-fan in one of the shops. It had sakura blossoms on it and it was just the right size for her.

"This is to fan yourself, Sakura-chan," Temari clarified; unfolding the fan and fanning the adorable pinkette.

"Uwa! Pretty," Sakura giggled childishly, "Like you, Tema-neechan!" She looked up to smile at the blushing blonde.

"Huh? You're kidding right? Temari?" Kankuro started to laugh so hard his stomach hurt and his eyes started to water.

"_**What did you say?**_" Temari's eye started to twitch uncontrollably and she could feel a vein pop on her forehead.

"Wah! Ittai! Tema-! NOOOOOOO!"

Gaara sighed as he picked up Sakura and decided to use his body to shield her from seeing such violent acts.

"_HAVE MERCY!_"

Yeap, she's definitely too young to see _that_.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was starting to get dark and the sun was starting to set. The Sand Siblings were on their way to their temporary apartments they had reserved for their stay in Konoha. Kankuro had Sakura in his arms sleeping comfortably. She had fallen asleep straight away after playing non-stop for the past couple of hours.

"Should we go find her team mates?" Kankuro suggested. He looked down at child in his arms and brought her closer to his body to keep her warm. He actually didn't mind the younger Sakura that much. She was too cute for him to resist. Besides, the older Sakura wasn't that bad either.

Wait. Did he just say that?

"I don't know where they live," Temari scratched the back of her neck sheepishly and peeked at the sleeping Sakura's face. She looked so innocent, with her mouth slightly open.

"It's getting dark. She should stay the night with us. We'll go find her team mates tomorrow," Gaara opened the doors of their temporary residence.

Kankuro and Temari stood at the doorway; their mouth agape. Did _Gaara_ just suggest that?

"There seems to be a problem," Gaara folded his arms, "There are only _two_ rooms."

Tenari laughed nervously, "Well, this was the only room left. So, both of you would be sharing a bed!" She removed Sakura from Kankuro's arms and ran as fast as she could to her bedroom ignoring the shouts of protest from her brothers.

Well, they were both siblings and of the same gender. There was nothing wrong with sharing a bed.

Now, dear readers, please get your heads out of the gutter.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sakura woke up in the dead of night in the dark room. She looked to her left and found the pretty onee-chan sleeping soundly next to her. Not wanting to wake her up, she slipped out of bed silently and opened the doors slightly so that her tiny body could squeeze out of the room.

She looked left and right; there was nobody around.

The pinkette opened the door across from hers.

"Sakura? What are you doing awake?" Gaara picked her up and placed her on the bed.

"Why is Gaawa-niichan not sleeping?" She looked at him with her giant emerald eyes.

"I don't sleep," Even if the Ichibi had been extracted, he still found it slightly awkward to fall asleep. So, he usually decided to meditate instead.

Sakura giggled when she heard Kankuro snore incredibly loudly. Of course, that was also another reason why Gaara couldn't sleep.

Sakura stood up on the bed, "Sakura is trying to protect Gaawa-niichan from the monsters."

Gaara stared at the pinkette and smirked, "You're scared aren't you?"

"No," she said stubbornly; looking around the room cautiously, "Because, Kiba-niichan said he would protect Sakura."

_The Dog-Boy?_

Somehow, he felt slightly jealous.

Wait. What?

He shook his head to erase the thought and turned on the bedside lampshade. He removed a permanent marker from one of the drawers. "Want to play a game?" Gaara looked mischievously at his brother's defenceless clear (for now) face.

_Oh, boy._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sakura lay fast asleep on his lap after they had finished vandalising Kankuro's face. Kankuro now had thicker eyebrows than Lee, a third eye and flowers decorated on every corner (courtesy of Sakura).

Gaara brushed back the bright pink hair that covered her face and tucked it behind her ear. Honestly, he was quite surprised that she hadn't been scared of him at all.

He placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

Maybe he should visit Konoha more often.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

** And that, my wonderful readers is another chapter of 'Sakura?'!**

** I hope all of you enjoyed reading it!**

** Please do tell me which person you would like to take care of her next in the comments or PM me (if you have suggestions). ^_^**

**Shino**

**Shikamaru**

**Chouji**

**Sasuke**

**Naruto**

**Sai**

**Neji**

**Lee**


	4. Chapter 4

-Well, if Naruto belonged to me. It would be a _shoujo_ manga, believe me.-

**Sakura?**

Chapter 4: Hatake Kakashi and Rock Lee

**Hi! This was supposed to be Neji's chapter but there were quite a few that asked for Kakashi. So, I was like: Hmm… Why not? ^_^**

**Hence, this chapter will be a combination of Hatake Kakashi and Rock lee (I randomly picked him, not sure why. _[It's the spandex]_).*0***

**Enjoy!**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Temari giggled like a little girl when she opened her brothers' door. She wasn't mentally prepared for this. She cleared her throat and tried not to laugh out loud. But, she failed. _Miserably_. She burst into loud laughter and clutched the door helplessly.

"What's so funny, Temari?" Kankuro scratched his haphazard hair, oblivious to his… err… _makeover_.

She tried her best to compose herself before replying, "Nothing." It wasn't her duty to inform him anyway. Besides, it was pretty entertaining. She turned her head to look at her other younger brother. He sat cross-legged on the bed with Sakura on his lap. The pinkette hid her smile behind Gaara's shirt and giggled quietly. Not wanting to attract the attention of the vandalised brother.

"Tema-neechan!" Sakura leapt from Gaara's lap and ran towards the blonde. Temari smiled a saccharine sweet smile at the little child.

"I'm going to give Sakura a bath and a change of clothes. Both of you should get ready; we're going to go find her next caretaker," Temari said in an authorative voice as she carried Sakura out of the room and closed the door.

Kankuro grunted and made his way to the toilet.

He screamed.

Looks like he noticed.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sakura jogged ahead of the Sand Siblings with her arms wide, imitating a flying bird. To the little girl the sky was a very big space. She wondered where it ended and where it began. There was this big canvas filled with blue that had her wondering if she was able to touch it. How tall must she get to touch the marshmallows in the sky? Would she get a tummy ache if she ate it?

Her neck was in an uncomfortable position from staring at the bright blue sky. Sakura wasn't really paying attention to the direction she was going and ended up walking straight into…

Yeap. You guessed it.

**Green spandex**.

Her tiny nose bumped painfully on a leg that happened to be standing in her way. She fell back end landed on her butt with a soft thud. She rubbed her nose and looked up at the creature in her path.

What in the name of _unicorns_ is that?

She blinked once, then twice trying to make sure she wasn't seeing double. Both men were towering over her and clad in bright green spandex.

Maito Gai looked down when he felt something small hit him. On the ground was a puny girl with bright pink hair and inquisitive green eyes.

"Sakura," Kankuro bent down and helped her to her feet. He itched to carry her and have him cling to him but the girl had wanted to walk ahead of them. Once she was on her feet, she grabbed fistfuls of his dark ninja pants and hid behind his left leg. A minuscule eye peeked out to stare at Gai and Rock Lee. Kankuro was soon joined by Gaara and Temari.

Gai and Rock Lee greeted the Kazekage respectfully before giving their full attention to the hiding girl. "Sakura-chan?" Lee inquired bending down to her level. He reached out a bandaged hand towards her.

Sakura tentatively took a step forward and held onto Lee's outstretched hand with both her puny hands. She smiled sweetly at him. Lee was suddenly close to fainting at how adorably shy she was. He had always liked Sakura. _His_ cherry blossom.

"May I know why she is with you?" Lee asked looking up at the raccoon-eyed Kazekage.

"Kiba entrusted her with us. Now, we are searching for Konoha ninja to look after her. We have business to attend to, _unfortunately_," Gaara cleared; tousling Sakura's soft hair.

"I'll take care of her! I swear on the power of youth that no harm will come across this little angel!" Lee proclaimed with full confidence.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Kankuro admitted.

Lee deflated and looked like kicked puppy.

"There's nothing to worry about, Kazekage-sama. I'll be with Lee," Gai assured the Sand Siblings.

Gaara looked at Sakura and nodded. He motioned for his siblings to follow him as he started to turn around and head towards the Hokage Tower.

Sakura frowned when their backs faced her, "Gaawa-niichan!"

He turned around and found Sakura waving at him with.

He allowed a smile to grace his lips.

Just a tiny one.

Just for her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Lee picked Sakura up and was surprised at how light and fragile looking she was. Sakura herself was trying to wonder why his moustache was on his forehead and not above his lips.

"Lee, is that Haruno-san?" Gai peered at her.

The younger man nodded, confirming Gai's suspicions. Gai flashed his trademark smile causing Sakura to squint her eyes at the sudden brightness. He pinched her nose lightly and pretended, "Got your nose!"

Sakura hands flew to her 'missing' nose and the next thing she did caught the two manly ninjas off-guard.

She started to cry for her 'missing' nose.

Maito Gai was known for his amazing Taijutsu skills, speed and his amazing good-looks that attracted ladies (It's the bowl cut). His very presence would make all the inexperienced enemy ninjas shake in their standard ninja sandals. Nothing could scare him or cause him to lose in any battle. But, when fragile little Sakura started bawling her eyes out, Gai started to panic (in a manly way, of course).

"Sa-Sakura-chan! Don't cry!" Gai tried comforting the crying child. Her only response was to cry louder as Lee panicked. "I didn't take your nose, see?" Gai opened his hands to prove that they were empty. No! He wouldn't even _think_ about stealing her nose.

Sakura sobbed softly as she looked at his empty hands. She placed both her hands on his; just to make sure that her nose didn't turn invisible. Who knows, right? She stared at him with slightly red eyes still wet from her tears and squeaked, "You _lied_?" She frowned (cutely) and wiped her tears and snot with the back of her hand. She started to scold the poor, helpless Sensei, "Lying is _bad_!"

Gai shrunk physically and nodded obediently. Even if Sakura was young and small she was as fierce as her older version. Or maybe, fiercer.

Lee tried to make her feel better, "Gai-sensei will give you a free punch for lying!"

Gai seemed surprised by this but hastily agreed. How much hurt could this little one do anyway? He mentally prepared himself to fake his pain and waited for Sakura's punch.

But, once again, he was caught off-guard.

Lee shouted in shock when his Sensei flew back hundreds of feet from the little girl's punch. It was either his Sensei had grown old or Sakura still retained her abilities. The man in spandex place Sakura on a nearby bench, "Stay here." He rushed towards his sensei at top speed.

Leaving her was probably a bad idea.

_Probably_.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sakura's stomach rumbled. She needed food. She got down from the unusually tall bench with little difficulty and started to walk. She wasn't sure where she was walking since there were a lot of trees, _everywhere_. She couldn't recognise anyone and decided that she could just walk straight ahead. She had to end up somewhere, right?

And she did.

Her little feet didn't make much of a sound when she walked on fallen leaves and twigs. Sakura looked around her; she was in a giant area covered in grass. Where was everybody? Sakura was close to giving up when something silver caught her eye.

She broke into a run and a huge silly grin was on her face when she hugged the person's right leg.

"Kashi-ojichan!"

Kakashi blinked. There was only one person that would call him that. He looked down and unhooked her fingers from his ninja pants. The Jounin lifted her from the ground. "What are you doing here?"

The silver-haired Sharingan wielder had been standing in front of the Memorial when he had suddenly been attacked by a certain pink-haired tyke.

Sakura was about to address his question when she stopped; her mouth agape.

She stared unabashedly at the pretty lady standing a few feet in front of them. Sakura tilted her head and noticed that she could see right through the lady! The lady laughed and waved. Her short dark brown hair swaying slightly tapping her cheeks that had purple rectangles painted on it.

"Onee-chan?" She called out.

Kakashi had a confused look on his features, "There's no one here but us, Sakura." Just to be sure, he scanned the area with his chakra. _Nothing_.

Sakura stubbornly pouted her lips, "There is! Onee-chan has pretty brown hair!" She pointed at the empty air to prove her point.

_Rin?_

He looked at the direction she was pointing at. There was nothing there. He rested his chin on top of Sakura's head and sighed silently.

They were long gone. He knew. Yet, somehow he wished he was able to see them once again and apologize for failing to protect them.

"Onee-chan is smiling," Sakura said while she waved at thin air.

_I hope you're in a better place, Rin._

Kakashi smiled genuinely behind his mask and looked at the pinkette in his arms.

He failed once; he wasn't planning on failing again.

His grip around the child tightened as he turned around to walk away from the Memorial. A soft breeze tousled his already messy hair; it almost felt as if the wind was waving him goodbye. He turned his head to look one last time at the Memorial.

He thought he saw a white shadow.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Lee screamed in horror for the umpteenth time that day. Gai rubbed his bruised shoulder and winced when his overly-dramatic student decided to stretch his face and pierce Gai's eardrums.

Gai watched half amused and half puzzled as Lee started to look around a certain bench. His student walked a couple of rounds around said bench; sometimes crouching down to look underneath it. "What are you looking for? Where's Sakura-chan?" Now, it was Gai's turn to look around.

Lee started to cry; a truckload of tears flowed from his (strangely) round eyes. "I can't find her! I'm a failure! I'm a failure!"

Gai didn't say a word as a few seconds passed; allowing him to absorb the information.

"_WHAAAT_?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Hatake Kakashi gazed at the pinkette silently as she gobbled down the rice messily. He used a napkin to wipe the stray grains of rice from her face. He couldn't help but smile at how adorable she looked. Now, Kakashi had always found the older Sakura attractive and had tried millions of times to get close to her. But, she had always placed an imaginary line between them that and the only thing that stopped him from crossing said line was his immense respect for her. Though, he had thought a couple of times to just cross that stupid line.

This was a reason why he had wanted to take care of Sakura. He didn't spend enough time with her and wanted to make up for it. For some strange reason, all the other ninjas saw him as a paedophile. He wasn't sure why.

Sakura and Kakashi were comfortably sitting on the slightly moist grass. Little Sakura had complained about her hunger and coincidentally, Kakashi had an onigiri stuffed in his chunin vest. He was supposed to save it for later but he could always get another one.

"Ne, Kashi-ojichan. What's this?" She stood up from her sitting position and patted his cheek with her tiny palms. She must be referring to the mask he was wearing.

Kakashi couldn't remember when he _didn't _wear it. "It's a mask," he explained; crinkling his eye.

Sakura blinked and removed her hand from his cheek, "Why is Kashi-ojichan hiding?"

_Hiding?_

Was he hiding?

"I'm not hiding, Sakura. I'm _waiting_ for that one special person," he tousled her hair.

No matter how long it took.

He would wait.

Till the day he was allowed to cross that imaginary line for her.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Lee came flying (literally) to the training grounds when he finally sensed Sakura's presence.

"SAKURAA! I'M SO SOOORRRYYY," Lee shouted as he swooped down to pick her up. Said pinkette giggled.

Gai was about to reprimand his arch enemy for keeping Sakura all to himself but stopped when he noticed Kakashi didn't have his usual book in his hands. Gai wasn't a professional at reading peoples' emotions but he had spent a fair amount of time with Kakashi to understand him. He smiled knowingly and slung an arm around the Jounin's shoulder. "Come, Kakashi! We should run laps around Konoha and spread youthfulness!"

"No thanks," Kakashi deadpanned and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving a log in his place.

Gai fell to his knees, "KAKASHI!"

Sakura giggled and she waved from Lee's arms.

Nobody but her could see that Kakashi had taken refuge in a nearby tree.

He crinkled his eye and waved back.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Lee had a really good understand of Youth and had been really hyped that he would have the opportunity to take care of his cherry blossom. But, Sakura's 'youthfulness' amazed him. How much energy could a _tiny_ little girl like her _have_?

They had played hide and seek until she felt bored and decided to doodle on a piece of blank paper he had left lying around his house. He wasn't sure where the paper had come from.

Sakura had this silly little grin on her face while she mindlessly started to draw rainbows and flowers. And, was that a kitten?

It was close to lunch time and the Master of Youth suddenly had an idea. "Sakura? Do you want to make lunch together?"

The puny girl looked up from her colourful masterpiece and stared at him with her humongous viridian eyes. "Lunch?"

Lee nodded ecstatically and took her hand; leading her to his small kitchen. He opened his fridge and took out a loaf of bread, pieces of cheese, slices of already cooked ham and vegetables. He laid it all out neatly on the kitchen counter and sat Sakura on a really tall chair.

She looked quizzically from the vegetables to the bright slices of cheese.

Lee smiled, revealing his straight rows of teeth, "We're going to make sandwiches."

He placed a loaf of bread on the middle of a plate and arranged pieces of cheese and ham over it. Once, he was happy, he placed another loaf of bread on top of it. He reached for the ketchup and started to draw a huge heart on the bread.

Sakura's eyes literally lit up at the opportunity to draw on a piece of bread. She reached for the ketchup and squeezed it experimentally. A waterfall of ketchup flew out of the nozzle and hit Lee straight on the face. Some of it went up his nose.

The pinkette giggled. She too had splotches of ketchup all over her.

Lee laughed and patted her head.

This childish side of Sakura really got Lee curious.

Lee had always liked Sakura since he first met her and had started to (shamelessly) pursue her. Though, Sakura would sometimes reject him. Years had passed and many events had transpired. The defection of her crush and her Team 7 leaving to take _him_ back. Sakura still stayed strong and waved her team good bye with a smiling face. And she still had that beautiful smile when they _all_ returned home.

As if on cue, little Sakura looked up and gave lee a toothy grin.

Lee laughed and threw a fist in the air, "YOUTH!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

What does one do after eating lunch, you ask? Sleep, of course!

Sakura was mumbling incoherently in Lee's arms as he started to walk to the next person's house. He didn't actually want to pass her over to the next person. But, he had to be responsible since he had a mission coming soon.

Lee arrived at his destination and stood at the doorway hesitantly.

He smiled at how adorable she looked asleep.

He promised himself that he would let _nothing_ hurt her.

He swore it on everything that was youthful.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Once, he had let Sakura at the new caretaker's house. Lee returned home straight away. He noticed that he still needed to clean up his kitchen since he didn't like ketchup on his walls.

He walked through his apartment and noticed a piece of paper on the floor.

He reached out to pick it up and almost cried tears of joy at the picture drawn on it. It was a masterpiece done by Sakura herself. It was a drawing of him and little Sakura holding hands in what seems to be a park. He completely ignored the fact that Sakura had drawn a pink tutu on him. That was irrelevant.

He flipped the page over.

Oh, _snap_.

It looks like Sakura had drawn her magnificient drawing on one of Lee important documents intended for Tsunade.

How was he supposed to give this document to Tsunade now?

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**YAAAAYY! How do you guys like it? *0***

**Do you guys still want Neji in the next chapter? ^_^**

**Please do review to tell me who you wish to be the next babysitter!**

**Shino**

**Shikamaru**

**Chouji**

**Sasuke**

**Naruto**

**Sai**

**Neji**


	5. Chapter 5

-Naruto doesn't belong to me. And probably never will belong to me. /tears-

**Sakura?**

Chapter 5: Hyuga Neji

**Hey guys! Here is the Neji Chapter I promised. It was supposed to be completed much earlier. But, I had a lot of stuff going on and I had to complete and file in some documents for school. It's a really troublesome and annoying process. I'm hoping that the enrolment goes well. *fingers crossed***

**I hope you guys don't mind this late chapter. Please continue reviewing and showing your love cause I post all my love in these stories for you guys!**

**Enjoy! **

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Hyuga Neji walked through the lonely corridors of the Hyuga household. He had always wondered why the walls seemed so _cold_. Absentmindedly, his fingers traced the wooden walls as he walked. He was still dressed in his ninja attire as he planned on getting some training done. He had so many techniques to master and so little time.

He breathed in the smell of fresh air and…

Ketchup?

_What?_

He stopped and stood sniffing the air madly with his neck stretched forward. Using his sense of smell, he followed the smell.

"Why are you covered in ketchup?" he heard one of the house caretaker ask. He peeked through the walls with his Byakugan and found himself staring at the chakra outlines of a very familiar little girl. Compared to the entire house, her chakra was warm and comforting, radiating from her in strong chakra waves. Strangely enough, her chakra was strong yet the body outline looked too small to have such powerful chakra.

He deactivated his Byakugan and walked over to the caretaker. She cooed at the little child and looked up when he neared them.

"Neji-san, your team mate informed me to tell you that it was your turn to take care of this little child," She smiled sweetly and turned towards him with a tiny girl in her arms. She had splotches of ketchup on her dress and hair. Her pink hair covered one side of her face as she slept soundly. Neji couldn't help but feel a little tug at the corner of his lips. He could not understand how a small being could have such control over his emotions.

The Byakugan user reached out to push aside the soft strands of pastel-coloured hair. He brushed her cheeks slightly and from that simple contact, the little girl opened her eyes to reveal innocent emerald eyes.

Sakura looked up and looked at one one-chan to the other (Neji). She rubbed one of her eyes and looked around trying to find Lee-niichan. Where did he go?

"Looks like you've woken from your nap little one," the caretaker smiled, "Neji-san, I will clean her up."

Neji nodded and watched her turn around to walk towards one of the bathrooms in the house. He gazed silently at the tiny body and wondered why she was covered in ketchup. Was Lee trying to put her in a sandwich?

He shook his head and started to head towards the training grounds behind the house. He wasn't planning on taking care of Sakura. He wasn't going to stoop to that level. He had better things to do.

Like training and training. Oh, also _training_. Yes, he was a very busy man.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Sakura giggled as the soft towel tickled her nose. She was dressed in one of the softest clothes that once belonged to Hyuga Hinata. The kind one-chan had been very nice to her and even allowed her to play around with a ducky!

She was now brushing her hair with a comb, "Sakura-chan, could you wait here for a minute?" She stood up and walked out of the bathroom. Well, by now all of you should learn that Sakura doesn't really like to wait. She looked around the bathroom and squeezed the rubber duck in her hands. It squeaked in protest. The squeak echoed in the empty bathroom.

She frowned and noticed that the door was slightly open. With her tiny feet, she trotted to the open door. With the rubber duck still in her grasps she walked out.

Well, at least she had a duck with her to keep company.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Neji took a deep breath and stared at the training puppet in front of him. He fell into his attacking stance and sent chakra to his hands. He braced himself and took a couple of breaths before striking at the puppet. He hit the training puppet a couple of times with his deadly strikes all aiming to maim or seriously injure.

He lifted his leg to hit the puppet but lost his concentration when he heard a loud crash. That little mistake caused him to slip and fall painfully on his butt. He groaned and removed himself from the ground.

He stared at the Hyuga Residence and tried to listen for any strange noises.

Nothing.

He nodded contentedly and fell back into his offensive stance and was about to land another deadly hit on the puppet when _another_ loud crash disrupting his concentration causing him to slip forward and hit his forehead on the training puppet. He grumbled under his breath and tried to ease the pain on his forehead. Luckily, he was wearing his forehead protector, so it didn't hurt as much.

But his pride hurt. Badly.

He turned his head angrily at the doors of the Hyuga Residence and decided to stare at it with one of his death glares, waiting for another _squeak_ to be heard. He sat there on the soft ground with his hands crossed and a determined expression on his face as he stared… at the door.

After a few minutes he decided that having a staring contest against the door wasn't such a good idea. He took a couple of deep breaths and closed his eyes enjoying the peace and…

_**CRASH!**_

Not so quiet.

His eyes flew open and he got up from his sitting position to follow the loud noises. It was starting to give him a headache. He stomped angrily and stopped in front of the kitchen. He slid the door open roughly and was about to stare at the culprit until said culprit burst into flames when he noticed that said culprit had _pink hair_.

He looked down and noticed that Sakura had taken _full_ control of the kitchen. Pots and pans were littered around her as she sat in the middle of all of it. It looked like a tornado had hit the kitchen.

Sakura looked up and grinned. She waved the wooden spoon in her right hand and banged one of the pots next to her causing a loud sound to literally burst his eardrums. Now, Neji was the type of man that valued peace and quiet. He crouched in a squatting position and groaned painfully as he massaged his temples.

Sakura looked up from her metal haven of pots and pans at the squatting Hyuga. She frowned slightly and dropped the spoon she was holding onto. She walked unsteadily to Neji and tugged on his sleeve.

Neji peeked at Sakura through his fingers. She placed the rubber duck in his other free hand and hugged him. _That_ caught him off-guard. "Sakura is sorry," She mumbled into his sleeve. Sakura had this look on her face that tugged on his heartstrings. He had this sudden need to cheer her up.

He squeezed the duck in his hands which caused it to squeak. Sakura let her right eye peek from under her pink bangs to look fondly at the duck in his hand. He squeaked the duck again and felt himself sigh in relief when Sakura started to smile shyly at him. He wasn't so sure why he felt _relieved_.

Neji picked her up and left the rubber duck on the kitchen counter. He wasn't planning on carrying that around with him. Hyuga Neji wouldn't look as _deadly_ if he was holding a rubber ducky.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Neji sat Sakura near his training area. He started to do some basic taijutsu training. He decided not to do such dangerous training since she didn't want Sakura to get hurt and he needed to keep an eye on her.

Well, he didn't actually _have_ to babysit her. He could ask for one of the house caretakers to look after her for a couple of hours until his turn was over. But, for some strange reason, he couldn't let go of the pinkette. He always seemed to feel comfortable when the pink-haired medic was around. She was a strong opponent in a battle and he liked being challenged. Sakura also wasn't loud and obnoxious unlike his team mate and Sensei. No, Neji didn't harbour any feelings for the older Sakura and he wasn't in _denial_.

Neji just _appreciated _Sakura.

Sakura took a look around her from her soft spot on the green grass. She watched silently as Neji-neechan started to dance. She quietly wondered why he was punching the air. Sakura didn't like feeling bored. So, she stood up and started to run around the training ground to try and entertain herself. She stopped and squatted in front a patch of white flowers. The pinkette poked the flowers absentmindedly. The flowers were very pretty, just like Neji-neechan.

Something flew past her ear. With her viridian eyes wide open, she stared open-mouthed at the flying _butterfly_. She giggled as she started to playfully chase after the extremely beautiful butterfly.

Neji stopped his taijutsu training to stare at Sakura running wildly chasing after a butterfly. He couldn't help but think that she was absolutely _adorable_.

Great, now he needed to flip some tables to regain his manliness.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Hyuga Hiashi walked calmly with a dignified air surrounding him. The Hyuga Household was extrmemly quiet (as usual). Both his daughters were away on separate missions and he had just returned from a meeting with the Hyuga Clan. He closed his eyes when a soft breeze hit his face causing his soft black hair to fly in the wind. Sometimes, the only thing that one could hear in the silent household was the wind and one's breathing.

Then, the strangest thing happened.

He heard giggling.

A little girl giggling happily.

The last time he heard that melodic sound was when his daughters were still young. He walked slightly faster following the sound; extremely curious. He loved his daughters and sometimes regretted the fact that they were born to hold the burden of the entire Hyuga Clan.

He stood with his back straight as his lavender eyes stared out the clear window. Sitting on the grass of the training ground was his nephew, Hyuga Neji. He had started training and teaching him the Clan's techniques and arts despite the fact that it was a taboo.

His nephew was sitting cross-legged in his meditation stance with his back facing Hiashi. He was sure the giggling came from him but Neji doesn't _giggle._ Right?

Neji turned around when he felt his Uncle's familiar presence. He removed himself from the ground and carried Sakura in his strong arms. Neji watched with an amused expression as Hiashi's eyes slightly widened at the little girl in his arms.

It didn't take a Nara to figure out that that puny child was _the_ Haruno Sakura. Yes, the exact same woman with the monstrous strength and healing abilities second to only Tsunade. Hiashi raised his eyebrows and walked over to his nephew that bowed respectfully at him.

"What do we have here?" Hiashi asked as he tilted his head to look at the pinkette, "Haruno-san?"

Sakura smiled shyly and waved. She couldn't help but stare at how pretty his eyes were. It looked exactly like Neji-neechan's.

"Sakura got into an… accident," Neji clarified.

"Accident? And it is your responsibility to take care of her?"

Neji nodded.

"I see. I trust you will do a good job. Tsunade would not just hand over her precious apprentice to people she does not trust. She looks quite attached to you," Hiashi pointed out as Sakura started to play around with Neji's brown locks and braiding them.

Neji looked shocked and slightly confused. Did Hyuga Hiashi just _praise_ him? What in the world..?

Neji was about to speak when Sakura interrupted him; "...Pretty eyes." She tore her eyes from her braid to look up, "Sakura wants pretty eyes… like Neji-neechan."

Hiashi used his hand to cover his mouth to hide his smile.

_Nee-chan? _He couldn't ignore the fact that his nephew _did_ in fact look slightly _feminine_. He didn't blame Sakura for getting his gender wrong.

Neji could feel the blood rush up to his face he sighed, "Sakura, we already went through this. I am _male_." Neji's face visibly softened as he continued, "Besides, your eyes are already very beautiful. I like you the way you are."

Hiashi raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Neji turned an amusing shade of red and stuttered as he excused himself. He was grateful Sakura couldn't understand what he was saying very well.

Hiashi watched as Neji scurried away with Sakura in his arms. That was quite unexpected. His nephew wasn't the type of person to have his guard down. The pinkette peeked at him from over Neji's shoulder. She placed her palm to her lips and blew him a kiss goodbye. She waved as she disappeared around the corner.

Hiashi chuckled.

Hyuga Hiashi never thought he would say this; but maybe he should persuade his nephew to start courting Haruno Sakura once she was back to normal.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Neji wasn't sure where he was going but he was pretty sure that kids like Sakura liked to be outside to play. Maybe watching him training was a little to boring. He decided that the park may be a good idea.

Once they had arrived, Neji placed Sakura carefully on her feet for her to explore the entire area. The Byakugan user felt slightly out of place as the park was filled with middle-aged women and families that have brought their children to a fun day in the park. He received some curious stares from some mothers and… _invitations_ (which he politely declined) from others.

With his vast abilities, Neji could keep track of Sakura's movements easily as she ran around and played with the other children. He stood there a few feet away from her with his arms crossed.

"Could you help me, kind sir?" An old lady asked as she struggled with the packages in her arms.

Neji glanced briefly at Sakura swinging happily on the swings before turning around to help the poor old lady with her packages.

Sakura swung her legs high up in the air to go up higher on the swing. She liked the feel of the wind in the hair and how close she was from touching the sky filled with marshmallows.

The pinkette got herself off the swing and started to make her way towards Neji who was still helping the lady with some boxes. She ran unsteadily to him and clung to his pants with her small hands.

The old lady looked slightly surprised at her entrance and smiled sweetly, "Is she yours?"

Neji rearranged the last of the boxes and looked up, "No. I… Uhhh… am taking care of her for awhile."

She smiled, "She looks just like the pretty lady working in the hospital. What was her name? Sakura? For a minute there, I thought both of you had a child together."

Neji blushed, his neck and cheeks turning a wild shade of red.

The lady laughed, "Well, young man, you should make your move before she gets taken!"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Neji sighed tiredly as he looked out into the distance with the sun setting casting an orange glow. Sakura was on his lap, her hands grabbing fistfuls of his shirt. Her eyes were already close to closing. He wasn't surprised if Sakura fell asleep any minute now.

She yawned, "Sakura don't want to…sleep."

Neji looked down, "Why not? Young children should sleep to get some rest. We need to wake up early tomorrow to send you to the next babysitter's house."

She looked up, half her face covered by her pink hair, "Sakura… don't want Neji-niichan to… go."

She rubbed her eyes and yawned once again.

Neji tucked her pink hair behind her ear and wondered why he felt so _attached_ to her. Just a few hours ago hew as unwilling to take care of her. Now, he didn't want to hand her over.

Also, there was this tiny little voice in his head telling him that _Sakura was special_.

Maybe she was.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Do tell me which guy you want to be the next babysitter! I was thinking maybe Chouji or Sai. I'm not sure… xD**

**By the way, I was just wondering if you guys wanted me to do a twitter account? So that it'll be easier if you guys want to give suggestions and I can update the status of the stories. Also you can ask me questions! What do you guys think? ^_^**

**Shino**

**Shikamaru**

**Chouji**

**Sasuke**

**Naruto**

**Sai**


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